Rutgers Reflection

Rutgers Reflection

            I first have to say this trip was so much better than I had expected it to be. When the trip was first mentioned I immediately was like what is this teacher thinking; I can’t believe this is trip is practically mandatory. I talked with my mom and she told me that if I truly did not want to go to ask if there was an alternative assignment. Once the alternative assignment came out I was like I just need to suck it up and go because I would have had to take more time off of work than the three days we were there. Parts of me was apprehensive because this would be my first trip from home by myself. I was scared about going on a trip I barely knew. I am so happy I decided to suck it up because it was the best experience I have ever had.

            One of the things that stuck out to me was when we went to Gallery U. When first arriving at the gallery I was not expecting to see such beautiful artwork. It was very inspiring to see that these people wanted to keep their lives going and art was the outlet they needed. It was wonderful that they providing the jobs and services these people needed. From Tipping Point, the Law of the Few, he was truly one of those who has made a difference. Then to hear that the business is continually growing and doing well is awesome. I also liked the fact when he said that mainly the same people stay around that they don’t go anywhere. I think that is what those people need. They are trying to recover from very traumatic events and if they were to have different people consistently coming in and out of their lives their healing process would take much longer. Both stories he shared had really touched me. I literally almost started crying because something so devastating happened to these people and they were able to walk away fully recovered by the end of their treatment.

            Social entrepreneurship is relevant to cultural leadership because both are leaders trying to improve a certain situation. To me cultural leaders and social entrepreneurship both coincide with each other because a cultural leader is looking for ways to improve their community and not looking for anything in return and with social entrepreneurship they are striving for a social change not a profit. So, cultural leaders and social entrepreneurships both need a leader that is willing to go above and beyond themselves for their cause.

            I enjoyed everything about the weekend it’s hard to pick just one thing. But if I had to pick it would be the connections we made as a group. The Rutgers did whatever they could to make us all feel comfortable and welcomed. They showed us a really good time. When they took us out and during Saturday they told us about the things the city had to offer. I know if it was offered to go back again I definitely would go. As I mentioned earlier I am so glad I decided to go instead of choosing the alternative assignment. I have to say the one thing I did not like was eating then listening to someone speak. I know after I’m done eating I just want to sit back and relax. I would rather have the speaker go first then eat. I think another thing I would want to change it may be having the trip a little earlier than the last month of classes. So, the bonds and friendships can grow more throughout the semester. I feel that we just started to really getting to know each other and the semester is getting ready to wrap up. It would have been so nice if we could have built these bonds sooner. One thing I know I am going to try to do better and work on is what I eat. At the restaurant when Toby shared her story of having two diseases at the same exact time, made me think it can happen to anyone at any time. I really need to start paying more attention to the things I eat. I wouldn’t change anything from this weekend. It was a blast.